Black History - March 1st

Originally posted on March 1st - Today we had some wonderful visitors to our school who exemplify our Enduring Understanding. The Sheffield Park Black History and Cultural Museum came to visit our school today. They brought with them artefacts from the museum that were collected from the slaves who escaped from the Southern US and came on the underground railroad to Freedom in Canada. Among the artefacts were pieces of African Art, sculpture, jewellery, clothing, tools and other things that help us to understand the plight of the escapees. Ms. Wilson from the museum told us about Harriet Tubman. She was a woman who risked her life over and over again to help people escape slavery through the Underground Railroad. She believed so strongly that people should be free that she spent her whole life working towards this goal. With every trip, she made a difference in so many people's lives. Ms. Wilson also explained how the Underground Railroad worked. She explained that their were safe houses - houses that the slaves could be safe from discovery - along the way that often had quilts or signs outside with secret messages on them so that the slaves would know they could rest there safely. The people who had these safe houses took big risks allowing the slaves to stay here, but because they did, many people were able to make the journey north safely. Their small acts made a big difference to the escaping slaves. Ms. Wilson also spoke of how important it is to learn from our past so that the mistakes that were made never occur again. Her small act of sharing the artefacts and a bit of the history of the Underground Railroad makes a big difference in our understanding of black history and our understanding of the history of Owen Sound, Collingwood and Grey county.